erstaunlich
German, adjective/ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç/
erstaunlich is spelled E-R-S-T-A-U-N-L-I-C-H (11 letters) and appears 21 times per million words in written German, the 3,812th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erstaunlich is a German adjective meaning “amazing, impressive, surprising (contrary to or surpassing expectations, in a positive or neutral framing)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “ungewöhnlich und dabei etwas anderes erwartend, dabei ein (leichtes) Staunen oder ein Gefühl des Befremdens…”.
What does erstaunlich mean in English?
adjective
- 1
amazing, impressive, surprising (contrary to or surpassing expectations, in a positive or neutral framing)
ein erstaunlicher Fortschritt
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. ungewöhnlich und dabei etwas anderes erwartend, dabei ein (leichtes) Staunen oder ein Gefühl des Befremdens auslösend 2. sehr groß, riesig, sehr viel oder viele
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of erstaunlich
- erstaunlicher masculine nominative singular
- am erstaunlichsten superlative
- erstaunliche feminine nominative singular
- erstaunliches neuter nominative singular
- erstaunlichen genitive masculine singular
- erstaunlichem dative masculine singular
- der erstaunliche definite includes-article masculine
- die erstaunliche definite feminine includes-article
- das erstaunliche definite includes-article neuter
- die erstaunlichen definite includes-article nominative
- des erstaunlichen definite genitive includes-article
- der erstaunlichen definite feminine genitive
- dem erstaunlichen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce erstaunlich?
- /ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç/
- [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to erstaunlich
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is erstaunlich in German?
erstaunlich appears 21 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).